From left are Wave of the Future contributors Rose Eglseder, Amy Clefisch, Juanita and Mayor Russ Loven. Donations total near $330,000 to date. (Press photo by Molly Moser)

By Molly Moser

Members of the Wave of the Future campaign committee for the Guttenberg swimming pool gathered at city hall on Thursday, Sept. 21. Two new donors announced their contributions to the campaign, and teams reported on their activities since the last meeting.

Guttenberg's new city manager, Denise Schneider, attended her first monthly council meeting on Sept. 11 following her tentative hiring last month. As the first order of business, the council officially approved the terms of her contract at Monday night's meeting.

Mayor Russ Loven opened the meeting with a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11 victims and also for victims of recent hurricanes and disasters.

Voters in the Clayton Ridge Community School District on Sept. 12 elected incumbent candidates Michael W. Finnegan and Kathy Ihde to the school board. Unofficial totals were Ihde with 231 and Finnegan with 209 votes. A third vacancy on the board with no declared candidates saw incumbent Jason Reimer garnering the most write-in votes with 110.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources Aquarium and Hatchery in Guttenberg remains open until mid-October this fall, while staff conducts testing at numerous sites along the river for a long-term resource-monitoring program.

At each of 35 randomly selected sites in pool 10 and 22 in pool 11, fisheries technician Kevin Hanson supervised testing of water quality, observations of habitat and vegetation, and the collection and documentation of fish in the area.

The Clayton County Assessor explains that changes in property values have occurred after the first county-wide reappraisal in almost 50 years. (Press photo by Molly Moser)

By Molly Moser

Many Guttenberg homeowners recently received a shock when semi-annual property tax notices arrived in mailboxes earlier this month. The Press reached out to Clayton County Assessor Andy Loan to shed light on the big changes some have seen in their bills. “I think there are a lot of misconceptions about the property tax system. There are many factors and influences at the state and local level that go into a property tax that make it difficult to understand,” Loan told The Press.

Island residents Jane and Ken Root represented the Wave of the Future during the island's Labor Day weekend golf cart parade. (Photo submitted)

By Molly Moser

Over the past three years, the Wave of the Future committee has done extensive research that covers many of the questions community members now have about the project, such as the current state of the pool, financial implications of a new pool, and the project timeline.

Clayton Ridge student Maddie Radabaugh's photograph and story on The Landing in Guttenberg is featured in the new collaborative book Connecting/communities: The People and Places of Northeast Iowa.

By Molly Moser

Clayton Ridge, Central, Ed-Co, North Fayette Valley, Starmont and West Central schools teamed up on a $2,000 McElroy grant through Keystone AEA to create a book called Connecting/communities: The People and Places of Northeast Iowa. Professional photographers worked with six area school teachers and their students to document the area with stories and photos taken by students. A professional graphic designer put their work on the pages of the book, which is now available at the Guttenberg Public Library.

A new riverboat passed through Guttenberg last week on its maiden voyage from New Orleans to Red Wing, Minn. The American Duchess is the latest addition to the American Queen Steamboat Co. fleet. Guttenberg native Gary Frommelt accompanied the boat on its inaugural journey. See story below. (Press photo by Shelia Tomkins)

By Shelia Tomkins

Gary Frommelt, a native of Guttenberg who is now vice-president of marine operations for the American Queen Steamboat Co., recently accompanied the American Duchess riverboat on its maiden voyage, a round-trip journey from New Orleans to Red Wing, Minn.